BEING THANKFUL
1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18
Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Wish this was Christ’s second commandment after the greatest commandment. Growing up, I learned a song based on this verse. I hummed, sang out aloud off key with all my heart but never really practiced. Now as an adult, these words ring so true and sum up our Christian daily walk – a walk that Jesus Christ wants and wills for us.
Thanksgiving celebrations shouldn’t be done only on the last Thursday in November. Instead every day should be a day of thanksgiving. For a Christian, every single day, every single moment is and should be of thanksgiving. Ephesians 5: 20 recommends we do this: Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Are our hearts always joyful and singing praises to God, thanking Him always? King David appointed Levite priests to offer praise and thanksgiving to the Lord our God continually (1 Chronicles 16: 4). Praising God and being thankful for all He has done should be an integral part of our daily lives. When our hearts are filled with gratitude, we won’t take God’s blessings for granted. Remembering what God has done, telling others about it, showing God’s glory to others and offering gifts of self, time and resources are the key elements of true thanksgiving. If we are truly thankful, our lives will show it.
How then is our attitude towards God and His faithfulness? Are we grateful for what God has done for us, or are we always thinking about what we would like to have? We should not allow our unfulfilled desires to cause us to forget God’s gifts of life, food, health, work and friends. After going through tough times, we should be quick to thank God for delivering us and protecting us from severe loss (Numbers 11: 4-6; Numbers 31: 48-50). Numerous times our circumstances will not allow us to be in that state of being thankful.
Take heart, dear saint, for the Lord who made us, knows our every situation. For in all things God works for our good if we love him and are called according to His purpose. In every trying experience that we go through, He is building in us the strength and we can be rest assured that His perfect love will see us through.
Our Loving God doesn’t demand that we be grateful towards Him. However, it pleases Him that we acknowledge Him for everything. When we respond to Him through our gratitude, He responds to us by revealing a little bit more about Himself.
Psalm 92: 1-2
It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High, to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night.
As we grow in faith, we understand His grace. As our hearts are filled with thanksgiving towards our Maker, for all He has done, we find ourselves changing. Our attitude changes drastically. We are more positive, humble, gracious and loving. Our joy is found only in Him. Our prayers are answered only by Him. All the drops of water in the ocean, if turned to ink, still are not enough to pen our offerings of praises and thanksgiving to our Lord for all He has done. Let us then do God’s will by always being joyful, praying continually and giving thanks in everything.
